Harlingen City Mayor Chris Boswell said during his State of the City Address, that 2012 has been one of the best years for the city.
He said the city has had 14 straight months of retail sales tax growth. In 2012, $20 million in sales taxes was generated and for the first time in history the city reached $1 billion in retail taxable sales.
Mayor Boswell also said Property values are up four percent, and the city's efforts to cut back on expenses, led to a $2.5 million fund balance increase.
These numbers are proof that Harlingen is just as competitive as Brownsville and McAllen, the mayor said.
"We have the second highest per-capita sales in the Valley - McAllen is higher but we're bigger than Brownsville,” Boswell said. “I think it means we're keeping people here to shop, and it also means that folks are coming from outside of our city limits to shop in Harlingen."
Boswell said the retail growth continues with a Sam’s Club opening soon and a 70,000 square-foot retail anchor store, which he did not name.
Unemployment went down to 8.1 percent, there was about $86 million worth of construction, United Launch Alliance celebrated its 25th anniversary and beautification projects continue.
"Studies have shown that if you beautify your community, your economy will improve because it makes it more attractive for visitors to come in and for people to stay," Boswell said.
Boswell mentioned many accomplishments, but said the highlight of the year was the completion of the Veteran's Memorial at Pendleton Park. He said it’s a “shining” example of the a community coming together for the city’s betterment.
The mayor received a standing ovation after his speech, but not everyone in the crowd was pleased with the news he delivered.
"We don’t need any more steakhouses, we need more jobs,” resident Yolanda Shoffeit said. “Jobs mean like (jobs fo) people that are on welfare and food stamps to get to work. We are existing, that's all we're doing, we are not moving forward."
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